The introduction of technology has had a dramatic influence on hotel sales and marketing strategies and tactics. Revenue management and control of distribution channels now dominate the time spent by lodging industry marketing personnel. These changes have impacted the dollars spent at the property level within the Sales and Marketing Department. To gain a better understanding of how U.S. hotels are deploying their unit-level marketing dollars, and the fees they pay to franchisors, PKF Hospitality Research examined Sales and Marketing Department expense data from its Trends® in the Hotel Industry database of annual operating statements. READ MORE

This article reveals the battle-tested tactics of one of the world's leading hotel marketing firms. These hotel marketing practices have been implemented and measured over the last 25 years at properties worldwide. Use these 10 simple methods to avoid costly mistakes and turn marketing into a measurable contributor to revenue. READ MORE

All of us who work in the hospitality industry are aware that the needs and expectations of guests are ever increasing and changing. Guests are our job and as companies we need to adapt to ensure we are offering the best level of service and keep guests coming back. An area that has seen the biggest and speediest change in the last ten years in my opinion is that of the technological needs and expectations of the guests. Ten years ago it was enough to offer in-room movies and a small business centre with internet access. Now that offering sounds possibly dinosaur. In a bid to 'keep up' and be a market leader, hotels especially within the premium sector, have fallen over themselves to shout about their building wide Wi-Fi, i-pod docking stations as standard in all rooms and automated check in services. In reality many are merely paying lip service to having these amenities and don't actually have the systems in place to support guests' requirements. READ MORE

Today's hospitality leaders must communicate information powerfully to inspire, enrich, motivate, and devise optimal solutions. As visual creatures, humans rely predominantly on this sense to learn. Utilizing visual communication which includes text as well as art, signs, photography, typography, drawing, graphic design, and illustrations enriches communication. The quote that “A picture is worth a thousand words” has been widely attributed to many sources; regardless of the source, visual imagery is valuable in persuasive communication. This article advances ideas for using images and other forms of visual information beyond the “written word.” READ MORE

Any perusal of the literature will show how increasingly important Food & Beverage has become to overall hotel operations. Its influence reaches across marketing, finance, staffing priorities, guest satisfaction results, and overall positioning of a property. Yet for all its acknowledged significance the F&B function can easily fly under the radar when it comes to performance scrutiny. This series of articles examines the underlying mindsets and principles that ultimately determine F&B success - factors that won't be picked up in year on year performance measures, or even comparisons against other restaurant operations. It's entirely feasible for an F&B department to tick all the financial boxes, yet grossly underperform when measured against actual revenue opportunities available and ignored. The six articles, concluding with the accompanying one, provide a litmus test for management in evaluating the latent strength of an F&B operation. READ MORE

It is not news to hoteliers that there are advantages to revenue management and marketing working more closely together. The better synchronized these two activities are, the more profitable the enterprise becomes. As an industry, we've been talking about opportunities in this area for a while, and recently with the advent of digital marketing and personalization initiatives, the need has grown for these groups to work more closely together. In this article, I'll talk about emerging opportunities to synchronize demand generation and demand control activities with the goal of profitably increasing guest engagement and guest conversion. READ MORE

35 percent of leisure travelers engaged in travel-related video activities within the past six months. Online video has become one of the most important elements to marketing destinations, hotels, and travel. Travel is an immersive experience and video has always been a great medium to sell it. Thanks to advances in technology, today's video options are more affordable and marketable than traditional video. READ MORE

Although hotel marketers have not as a rule incorporated product placement or branded entertainment into their marketing mix, there are a few examples of hotels that have successfully employed these marketing tactics to gain exposure and attract guests through the mediums of film, television or the Internet. This article identifies the critical success factors necessary for effective communications of this nature, taking a closer look at the use of product placement and branded entertainment by hotels. The article presents several examples of hotels that have partnered with producers of television, film and digital content to present engaging stories that appeal to potential guests. READ MORE

The proliferation of China's outbound tourism, while something you should definitely take notice of, is serving to overshadow India's vast growth in this same area. The nation is expected to not only make incredible gains in GDP per capita, but also in the volume of outbound travelers. However, even though India represents a lucrative market for hoteliers to engage new groups of travelers, there are many exceptional factors which might inhibit these connections from properly forming. With an overview of pertinent information about the country for both the present and the future, several clear and simple actionable steps become apparent. READ MORE

A Forrester study found that today's travelers are not only using mobile devices to research lodging and travel options, but also as a transactional tool to book and communicate onsite preferences directly with the hotel. However, travelers are still having conversations with brands offline, which challenges hotel marketers to explore how to distribute their budget—how much should be spent offline and how much should support online initiatives. Gaining advanced attribution capabilities enables hotel marketers to measure both offline and online investments to confidently optimize their marketing strategies and annual budgets. This article dispels common myths about advanced attribution and provides practical advice on how hotel marketers can best leverage this advanced technique. READ MORE

The Millennial generation is a different breed. The way they live, work, and play is contrary to prior age groups, and in order to attract them you have to appeal to how they want to interact. Not only will it involve changing services and facilities within the hotel, but ways in which you market and sell. Keep in mind that Millennials never existed without computers and smart phones and therefore technology is their go-to resource for research and information. They look at everything on a smartphone not a computer, use social media and texts instead of 800 numbers and voicemail, and have a completely different mindset than the rest of us. As a result, how you position yourself going forward to appeal to this generation — which is on pace to outnumber the Baby Boomers — is now more important than ever. READ MORE

As unlikely as it seems, with hotel groups focusing on technology to enhance the guest experience, the time will come when the major area of competition is the energetic feel of the guest experience. This change is inevitable because the human energy field is the only untouched area left for hotels to explore. This article is in two parts and states five scientific principles, which hoteliers must know in order to create an energetic Heart-Based Hospitality guest experience. When applied, the guest experience can be transformed to new levels. The first hotel group to apply them will have a major advantage. READ MORE

Impressive occupancy rates and increasing hotel revenues in cities such as Abuja in Nigeria, Luanda in Angola, Accra in Ghana and Cape Town in South Africa have had a strong influence on hotel investor sentiment and overall confidence about sub Saharan Africa as a key investment destination. Now, more than ever, regional hotel brands and international operators are flexing their muscles and seeking to expand their footprint across the region. But, do we have the requisite skills in specialist areas such as revenue management? And, is the talent pool in this field large enough to accommodate the region's burgeoning hospitality sector in the long-term? READ MORE

Smartphones and tablets are powerful devices, made more powerful through the worldwide proliferation of apps. With millions of apps available for Android and iOS devices, and with apps for every interest (personal and professional), there is a corresponding increase of the risks posed by so-called "leaky apps": Apps that may function properly, but, because of certain flaws or coding errors, can be exploited by hackers and cyber criminals. Educating individuals and businesses about these risks must be a priority. Aware of this challenge, and equipped with the right resources to identify and isolate leaky apps, hoteliers can solve this problem. READ MORE

To say that the world has changed in the past ten years is an understatement. A decade ago, mobile phones were still primarily used to make phone calls, a 'tablet' was something you took for a headache and 'TripAdvisor' was only in its infancy. Even more dramatic is the change we've seen in how hotel rooms are booked: from traditional channels to online travel agencies to making reservations from the palm of your hand. Armed with more options for booking and research than ever before, plus the ability to share their experiences in real-time; consumers are in control and it's crucially important to attract the right guest at the right time for the best rate. READ MORE